Deconstructing memory with DREADDs

There are now quite a few papers using DREADDs in an inducible fashion to deconstruct the memory trace, block memories and augment memory.

I note that there are some intriguing differences with certain experiments and parallel studies done with optogenetics.  Among the various possibilities that have been suggested (see this review), it is important to remember that DREADD-based approaches utilize conserved and canonical modes of signaling to augment or diminish neuronal firing in an asynchronous fashion while optogenetics approaches essentially induce an artificial, synchronized firing pattern.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CNO in drinking water

We frequently get requests regarding protocols for putting CNO in the drinking water for long-term studies. Here is our protocol: 1. Dissolve the CNO in a small volume of DMSO 2. Diluted the dissolved CNO in drinking water (e.g., 5mg/200ml) 3. Give mice with CNO drinking water  and protect from light using foil-wrapped bottles 4. The mice will receive 5mg/kg/day CNO (assume that mice weight 30g and consume 6ml water per day) 5. Prepare fresh daily. 6. A small amount of saccharine in the drinking water will mask the slightly bitter taste of CNO
Read more

How best to dissolve CNO ...it depends on what it is soluble in (and that depends on the particular polymorph)

I recently received the following question: " My question is with regard to the use of CNO in drinking water (in mouse studies). Your recipe calls for the addition of a small amount of DMSO to dissolve CNO at a concentration of 5 mg in 200 mL. As we and others routinely dissolve CNO in 0.9% saline (no DMSO) at concentrations up to four times this amount, I am curious whether the addition of DMSO to CNO solutions for H2O drinking is critical, or whether the properties of CNO permit it's direct dissolution in H2O at concentrations from 5-20 mg per 200 mL. There appears to be no difficulty dissolving such concentrations in H2O in my hands, but I would prefer to hear your perspective. Is there a published reference for the solubility profile of CNO in H2O or 0.9% saline?" It basically depends upon the source of the CNO.  CNO via the NIH RAID program (which is what we use) is not readily soluble in H20 while commercial CNO is.  Although we've verified that both source...
Read more